The Map

 

Players:

 

Kingdom of Victoria

 

 

Federation of Inazuma

Fleet Admiral Soren de Wynter/Excalibur Rebirth - Sabre Lily

Commander Cinder de Wynter/Altria Pendragon, King of Knights - Sabre Lily

Rear Admiral Kirin Lei/Barbados - Riki

Captain Testarossa Danaan/Garnet Meteor - Sabre Lily

 

Viridian Peristylium

Gold Centurion Antigone Pallas/Athena - Shulk

Bronze Centurion Maximillian Carter/Skeith (Irregular) - Scrapmaster

Gold Centurion Ager Kawal/Bellona - Carolina

Gold Centurion Milas Armas/Thor - Carolina

Praetor Griffith Regis/Gaea - Carolina

Gold Centurion Lucia Maximilian/Vulcan - SuperiorKunivas

 

Empire of Diabelia

Beast Tamer Alicia Kross/Cthusus - Scrapmaster

Beast Tamer Magnus Seron/Fenris - rikunobody

Beast Tamer Magda Seron/Talathea - rikunobody

Beast Master Daegamon, Scourge of the West/Bai Hu - Sabre Lily

 

Zadkiel Dominion

Seraphim Rias Teryn/Elysiel - Sabre Lily

Dominion Kasou Tou/Alaria - Cam19949

 

Principality of Abraxus

The Lucifer, Argus Drakon/Nyxeris - Sabre Lily

 

Erebus

Neena Mors - Carolina

 

 

It's been a long war.

Rias Teryn walked through the halls of the Temple of Mercy, heading for the War Room. Behind her walked Elysiel, the simple, but extremely powerful Seraph. Bare feet muffled by her metal combat boots, Rias shoved the doors open, shoulders set.

"Tell me we haven't lost another city."

Her war council turned. "Chantry is under heavy attack from Abraxian rebels, milady. We're doing our best, but we can't perform mi...we can't turn the tide of battle with so few Eidos still able to fight. Many are still hurt, and many yet are untrained. We need something."

Rias flicked dark hair from her eyes, grey eyes set. "And of the Federation's assistance?"

"The war machnes they did send are protecting Sanctuary, but the loss of Basilica has already hit us hard."

 

The Dominion held city of Basilica was under Abraxian control. They were losing the war, and they didn't now what to do without help. The surprise attack was a Second Bloody Valentine; many of their best men and women fell, and now she alone could do nothing. With Victoria and Diabelia pressuring the Federation to stay out, and the Peristylium staying apart, the Dominion was going to fall...they needed a miracle.

A miracle that Elysiel wouldn't be able to pull off alone.

 

------------------------------------------------

 

Federation Supreme Headquarters Xion

Soren de Wynter hated paperwork. he hated it with the fury of ten thousand suns. He couldn't stand the amount, but someone had to lead. Yes, most of this was sign here, here, and here, but some wasn't. He had thrown a lot of his paperwork onto newly hired assistants and other civilians, a lot of classified stuff he just couldn't do that with. He was not happy, and wondered if he could get another Admiral to lend a hand. His hatred off the entire concept of paperwork by the lights dimming, and his main screen snapping on to show his purple-haired sister, Cinder.

"Soren."

"Cinder."

His sister didn't salute. He had to order her not to. "Basilica's fall has left Chantry and Sanctuary wide open. Even the help we've sent has not been enough. Soren, we have to intervene. Zadkiel is going to fall, and if they....if the Dominion falls, we could be seeing another Great Division."

Soren chewed the end of his stylus. He admitted, she was right. But what he right now had to do, was sway either the Kingdom of Victoria, or the Empire of Diabelia...neither choice was something he wanted. He set the stylus down. "Stealth is of the utmost importance. Cinder, this is to be considered an Omega Order - ensure that the city of Sanctuary does not fall. I will work on my end, but I'll need a way to get my ships to you. Buy Rias and I time...and be careful."

"I will."

 

The screen off, Soren de Wynter swept his arm across the table, sending papers and tablets onto the floor. He hit the intercom.

"Get me Rear Admiral Kirin Lei. Now."

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

IDF Normandy, 13th Intelligence Fleet. Current Location: High altitude above the Dominion City of Sanctuary

Cinder de Wynter turned from the screen to her Eidolon, Altria. The King of Knights was sitting with her arms and legs crossed, eyes closed. The purple-haired Commander crept closer and bent over, but a gauntleted hand grabbed her chin.

"Bad girl."

She whimpered, lightly tossed back. Altria rose. "If I knew you were such a pervert, I would have reconsidered."

Cinder pouted. "...I just can't stop...you're amazing."

Light blush. Score one for Cinder. "Shut up."

 

Cinder giggled. Altria couldn't deny it - she did have a real soft spot for Cinder. How soft...well, depended on how hot Cinder was going to turn up the heat. And what was all it took to start a wildfire?

A cinder.

Edited June 25, 201510 yr by Sabre Lily

"Top objective would be to find the Eidos, and put an end to him, in the case we can't face the Eidolon head on" Markus pointed out as they flew in the dark matter, hopefully, this was all a bit much to take, a single Eidolon taking down an entire fleet and almost single handledly destroying the chantry, it was unbelievable, but he didn't think too much about it. They soon reached the Inazuman headquarters, he landed the dark matter, and got out of the ship, and went to oversee how Kirin was doing back there in the operation. "All in a day's work huh?" he commented. as he looked around, ceveral inazuman soldiers and engineers came to assist in getting Barbados to the repair area, meanwhile Markus pressed a few buttons in his gauntlet, sending a message to his research assistants, about the data he collected, specially the Dark matter's.

In the instant of landing, Mella knew who touched down. As she ran back to the bay, hoping to meet an existed but perfectly healthy Kirin, she heard the warning Censor go off. She ignored them as she ran to go see her best friend. Instead, she watched as the wreckage of Barbados was being moved to a repair hanger and Kirin was being wheeled away on a gurney. She ghasped, and looked at Barbados. "...What the hell..." she only wispered, and did so carefully into her work gloves. Stunned, she stood on the platform, frozen.Earlier..."I think I should put in for some overtime, Markus. Maybe some of that cash could be used to buy you a half-decent suit of clothes for you to wear instead of that damn suit!" Kirin joked, coughing harshly, his vitals began dropping so they wheeled him off and away to the Dispensary so that he could get the vital care he needed.

-Max- 

-Viridian sparring grounds-

 

Max had a small smile on his face as he spoke with Antigone, after all, having a sparring partner was beneficial in every way, he returned to his normal expression as he told him to make the first move, "alright" he said as he took a few steps back, Skeith vanishing from his side and reapearing a a short distance away, as it leaned against a wall, to watch the spar.

 

Max stopped at a reasonable distance of a few meters from Antigone as he summoned a sword on his hand, said sword had a red bladed edge, which glowed, this was common of most weapons he summoned with Skeith's power, this sword in particular was smaller than the average swords made for fighting, he entered his combat stance, holding the sword with his right hand behind him, "Alright here goes!" he said, as he swiftly threw the sword towards Antigone, but this wasn't just it, the sword, flashed mid way, disappearing, as Maximilian had teleported while it did so, holding another sword in his hands as he did a downward slash towards Antigone as he fell, a good ammount of power could be felt coming off of Max.

 

Skeith simply glanced into the new face who had just entered the Sparring grounds, but paid no mind as he returned to watching Max and Antigone's spar.

 

/////

 

-Markus-

 

-Flying to Kirin's position-

 

Markus had gotten into the corvete class ship, although it took him long enough, because some of the people in the hangar weren't too fond of him, because he had a small hobby of tinkering with the ships at the hanger, with permission of his superiors of course, but it still annoyied most engineers when he corrected some miscalculations they had made, and he wanted to get a corvete that he himself had helped build and modify, which was hard to do, because they were nigh impossible to control due to the configurations, and a lot of paperwork for him to sign later as a result as well.

 

"Lets get this booted up" He said getting into the ship, and sitting in the pilot seat, as he did so he pressed in the side of his helmet, "Activate delta system integration" he said as his suit began to connect with the ship's system, integrating with it, giving the whole ship the "Delta system", which is exactly why it wasn't easy to control otherwise, it was made specifically for the delta system Markus had made, to optimize all features of its already advanced system, granted he could do it with any ship, modified or not, but it wouldnt work as well.

 

He soon took flight, at incredible speeds due to his self built jet system into the ship "Alright lets see where Kiring is" he said as he waved his hand in front of him, as his suit began to scan for Kirin's coordinates, following his Eidolon's data and signatures, he soon found where they were, and changed his trajectory, his suit automatically calculating the estimated time of arrival, which wasn't long, and checking if it had enough fuel to return to base after whatever it is that they were about to do was done.

 

After some minutes of flight he could now detect them on the Ships radar, although it was far enough that he couldnt see them visually, but he knew he wasn't far, before his suit's system detected an anormality, which was the fact that Kirin's eidolon, had sustained damage from something, which made Markus hurry up even more.

Antigone was about to dodge the thrown sword, but it suddenly disappeared, while Max appeared above her. She was surprised by the boy's speed. She attempted to move out of the attack's range, although the sword still managed to land a blow on her shoulder. Her armor kept her protected, but it still hurt quite a bit. After getting away to a safe distance, she complimented the warrior. "You're only a Bronze Centurion? You're much faster than the other ones who I've met." She gripped her sword tightly before speaking her next line. "I'll need to keep my guard up when I spar with you." She was about to make her own counter attack, but another woman joined the two and introduced herself. Antigone stopped her attack, but still kept a firm grip on her sword.

 

-Lucia Maxima-

 

Entering the sparring arena with no knowledge of some of the recent events, Lucia started training with Dummies, honing her melee skills with her Tonfas by executing combos the would cause severe damage to an unsuspecting foe, even doing rather agile attacks like flipping forward before striking. While this was good training, it wasn't....good enough, for Dummies couldn't fight back, even as she activated her Pyromancy powers and sent several fireballs at a few more and breathed fire on another, it wasn't...stimulating either. Deactivating her powers, she turned to look at the other combatants, one of which seemed to use his Eidolon alongside him rather than merging or using their powers completely. She imagined others wouldn't really like that but Lucia found that interesting, so she approached them, signalling for their attention

 

"Fellow Centurions, I presume? I am Lucia Maxima, Gold Centurion." She bowed with respect to them. "Anyone wish to train with me?"

"Yes, we are Centurions as well." Antigone nodded. "I'm Antigone Pallas, another Gold Centurion. It would be great to have another training partner." Antigone bowed back to Lucia.

-Lucia Maxima-

 

Lucia nodded to Antigone. "Precisely why I came here....and because my Eidolon pestered me to do so." She said with a chuckle, Vulcan joining in with his own sounds of amusement in her head. "He's Vulcan, God of Fire, strict but has a sense of humour to him." She explained with a small smile. "Wouldn't get anywhere with you if I was mean and cold now would I?" Vulcan spoke aloud instead of in her head this time, Lucia nodding in acknowledgement of his sudden presence, chuckling before looking at Maximilian. "What rank would he happen to be then? I presume his fighting style isn't particularly favourable to his superiors? Not to say I'm not impressed with how they work together." Lucia inquired. "And who's your Eidolon?" She added.

-Maximillian-

 

Max smilled as he managed to land a hit on Antigone, even though she dodged, she wasn't expecting an attack like that, he walked backwards as she did as well "Im not your regular bronze centurion, i've served for a good few years." He explained to her about her question, "Always keep it up" Max commented about her other statement as he entered a fighting stance, before noticing the woman introducing herself, his sword soon vanished from his hand as he went to speak with her as well.

 

Seeing her introduction made him chuckle as her Eidolon spoke out loud, much like Skeith loved doing, although skeith loved to appear in front of others, as she then asked him about his rank, he shrugged "A bronze centurion." he said with a disappointed tone, as she then asked about his Eidolon, Maximilian didn't even have to answer, he simply gestured his hand to his side as Skeith manifested himself in front of both Antigone and Lucia, being clearly visible as he was triple the size of Max.

"I am Skeith The Harbinger of Doom" Skeith spoke to them both, as for her last question, Maximilian sighed, "They don't take kindly to Eidos who don't have their Eidolon posess them like most Viridiam Eidolons, in fact, most don't even know what type of Eidolon Skeith is, in fact." Max explained to both Antigone and Lucia.

 

"Simply put, instead of posessing him like most god, I decided to lend him a part of my power, and I choose to fight alongside him, two is better than one, even if one's posessed by a god if you ask me." Skeith gave his input as Maximilian shrugged again before looking at Lucia, "Vulcan huh? i've heard of you two, pretty nice track record" he complimented.

 

-Markus-

 

"Hey I appreciate anything given to me, it does make it more comfy to wear some clothes below this suit, other than the endo-suit I have to wear for it to work properly" Markus joked back as he moved forward as Kirin's vitals dropped, something his suit picked up as well, but it was unneeded as he was soon taken to the Dispensary, "Get well..." Markus muttered as he looked around, and noticed Mella, standing there, frozen, looking at the scene.

 

He knew Mella more from Kirin than interactions with her, she was Kirin's best friend so some talk would slip here and there, and a few teases too, he walked over to her, standing beside her, "Kirin went out on a mission, one of his squadmates turned out to be a traitor, Kirin barely survived, I barely got there on time." Markus explained what happened, "But he'l be fine, he's tough." He reassured her.

Edited July 13, 201510 yr by Scrapmaster

-Lucia Maxima-

 

Lucia chuckled. "Bronze Centurion? That feels a little harsh, if you ask me. You have great power, you just use it differently!" She said, putting her left hand on her respective hip. "And Skeith...I like you. Just to put it simply. Vulcan does come out in person too but not in combat, as he knows that would provoke the bias of the higher-ups. He just likes personal talks with me and others which can't quite be achieved via a voice in my head." She explained to Maximilian, keeping a smile on her face. "There is a certain level of familiarity and intimacy to face-to-face interaction that I particularly like." Vulcan interjected aloud.

"So, who wants to spar first?" She challenged.

Antigone smiled as she heard the two other gods join the conversation. They both sound kind of similar to you, Athena. She silently spoke with her Eidolon.

 

"I agree, Vulcan. Eidos can be difficult to communicate with sometimes." Athena spoke aloud to the group this time, teasing Antigone.

 

"That would be Athena, goddess of wisdom." Antigone introduced her Eidolon. "Now then... If you wouldn't mind, I would be interested in seeing Max battle once again. If he wants me to battle, though, I'll gladly spar with Lucia for now."

"I don't enjoy controlling my eidos, doesn't sit right with me, I don't give much of a damn about what the higher-ups think" Skeith told Lucia after her statement, albeit with a calm and respectful tone, "Well met, both of you" Skeith told the Eidolon as Max looked at Antigone, who spoke her opinion on the spar, "If you say so." He said as he turned to Lucia, "Im up for a spar".

 

"As much as i'd like to join, im here to oversee Max's training, so I won't be joining, but he can use my power." Skeith said as he crossed his arms and looked at Max, who nodded in return, before moving to his place and entering a fighting stance.

 

"You go first Lucia". he said

Edited July 15, 201510 yr by Scrapmaster

-Lucia Maxima-

 

"It is a little invasive, I must admit." Vulcan added in before Lucia made her statement. "It works. That's really all that should matter."

Lucia then nodded at Skeith's comment about only overseeing rather than getting into the thick of it. "Fine by me." She said, stretching and moving to her own place opposite Max, readying her fists but keeping her Tonfas handy.

 

"With pleasure, Max." Lucia spoke with a confident tone as she made her first move, going for a cartwheel kick.

 

 Battle  Spar begin! 

 

 

Max smirked hearing the confidence in her words, for some reason confident opponents would always make him feel good fighting them, something Skeith rubbed off on him, he stepped forward and sidestepping Lucia's kick, summoning a sword as he did, he promptly dashed at her and swung at her with his sword, with remarkable speed.

 

 

-Lucia Maxima-

 

The attack was too fast for her and she was hit by the sword slash, causing her to stumble back a bit, but only a short bit as she recovered quickly.

"Impressive, Max." She said as she readied her Tonfas, twirling them in her hands before going for one of her usual 3-hitter combos on Max.

"You had better be on the defensive against fast and tough opponents." She warned as she struck. "She is correct, defence can sometimes be better than offence. Or even the best offence." Vulcan added.

Edited July 16, 201510 yr by Corrupted Shinnok

-Maximilian-

 

"Nothing a little crowd control won't solve" Max replied, using the same sword he summoned to block and deflect two hits from Lucia's combo, the third swing hit him on his arm though, but he quickly retaliated by quickly ducking and punching the ground, his arm infused with magic energy, creating a shockwave around him, as he quickly followed up by summoning a second sword to his off hand, as he rushed at her with a combo of five slashes while she was thrown back from the shockwave, "How long have you served in the army?" he asked.

 

"Probably a lot less than you...you've been at it for 7 years, ever since I came to you, and we are still in bronze." Skeith said with a chuckle.

Edited July 17, 201510 yr by Scrapmaster

-Lucia Maxima-

 

Three of the slashes managed to hit her, but the 4th missed, allowing her to block the last one and clash with Max.

"Three years! I've served three years in this military, Max...grr, but I have seen a hell of a lot of action in my time and done a lot." She said, pushing Max back a little, their blades making sparks from their force.

"Years don't always matter though, do they? You've been on for Seven years and yet you're still a Bronze, which I believe to be a pity!" She yelled as she activated her Pyromancy and expelled a Fire Shockwave from around her and prepared to attack with another combo.

"True enough" Max replied as he and Lucia clashed, bracing himself for her next attack "No doubt you haven't" he replied to her other statement as well, he braced himself for her attack as she pushed him back, "Theres a lot of factors really" he said as he saw Lucia entering pyromancy mode, he noticed several markings on her body appearing, signalizing she had powered up.

 

Even though he braced with a energy barrier, the shockwave was enough to push him back, and soon hit by the following combo, de-summoning his swords as he took three blows, but he managed to grab both of Lucia's arms as his eyes glew, activating some of Skeiths's power, which allowed him to drain magic energy from Lucia's fire, and charge his own magic as he soon pushed her back and thrusted his arm forward, creating a shockwave in front of him.

 

"I hear theres a war between Abraxus and Zadkiel going on, I wonder what our kingdom will do about this, probably stay out like it always does" he commented as he summoned a sword and held it on his hands, the sword, he soon blinked behind Lucia, with a quick swing, which unleashed a small afterwave of destructive energy.

Edited July 19, 201510 yr by Scrapmaster

Floating City Sanctuary, Zadkiel Dominion

 

The city of Sanctuary was old and weathered the passage of time better than even the Temple of Mercy. But even it's steadfast stand against the march of time could not lessen the blow. The crippled Normandy crouched in the coliseum, undergoing massive repair. It's helper, Tenerbras, was holding just off the "coast" of Sanctuary, a steadfast guardian. it had some hull damage, but nothing that couldn't have it go a few rounds with a Victorian Steam Airship flotilla or a few Beasts.

 

In the major hospital Cinder lay, Altria her steadfast guardian. The last remaining Marines and Officers of the 13th were there. The fleet had been...wiped out. Almost completely. And now, their commander lay wounded, no one sure if she would make it.

All they could do was hope.

 

Viridian Caverns, Viridian Peristylium

 

As the Viridian Eidos trained and trained, subterfuge swept through the Azure, the White, and the Diamond Caverns. Out of all seven of the caverns, these three were chosen. Abraxian troops swept through them, their operatives setting up close to each and every Water God Eidos there was. Others rigged the caverns with high explosives from Inazuma's special reserves, preparing.

 

As everyone trained, a single EREBUS agent stepped into the training room, and held up a detonator. He was there as a matyr - he was going to die, but maybe, he'd take these bastards with him.

"For a kinder and more gentle world!"

 

The man, a nobody, passed over due to Eidolons only, pulled the triggers. He himself exploded at once, incinerated. But elsewhere...as agents murdered any and all Water God Eidos - ocean, river, spring, rain, hell, they even killed some guy who had a god of tea. They murdered them all, and they themselves were swept away as the caverns were flooded. And the other, untouched caverns...they watched in horror, as Earth Gods brought forth walls upon walls, sealing off thousands of people..nearly a quarter of a million..away, to die. Four thousand people, from three of seven massive caverns, were all that remained.

 

EREBUS and Abraxus had struck the Viridian Peristylium without any mercy. And no one left could figure out who'd be next - Diabelia? Victoria? Inazuma?

All three?

 

For Argus Drakon, he merely leaned back and laughed. First, Sacellum. Then Chantry...now the Peristylium felt his bite. No one was safe. Not anymore. He made sure of that.

Antigone was watching the sparring match between her two comrades, amazed by their combat skills. She realized that she still had quite a bit of room for improvement. However, in the middle of the match, a loud shout was heard nearby, followed by a sudden explosion. Unsure of what to do in the sudden situation, she decided she needed to keep Lucia and Max safe. "Get down!" She shouted, and quickly hit the floor. She covered her head, and hoped that the explosion would be small enough that it wouldn't cause any severe damage...

Edited July 21, 201510 yr by Shulk

-Lucia Maxima-

 

Lucia was beginning to enjoy this fight, managing to take the shockwave and deflect the destructive wave, preparing herself for another run--

*Rumble, stones fall from the roof of the cavern as an explosion sounds from afar*

"What in the name of the Gods?!" She shouted, ceasing her attack. "An explosion! Someone's destroyed something here...I don't know what, but we must remain calm, like Athena said." Vulcan also spoke aloud for all to hear.

Lucia quickly relaxed however, for she felt she had endured worse. "Hmph, bet it was Abraxus or those EREBUS fools. This is why Neutrality isn't the best course." She couldn't help but say before rallying Antigone and Max so they could search together. "Antigone, Max! We must group up if we are to survive!" She shouted to the both, beckoning them to her.

"Good thinking." Vulcan told her.

{Magda}

Magda gave Alicia a sharp look, but it was gone in a second.

"An interesting stand point." She said in a cryptic tone. "One that the council would have difficulty accepting. What if what you believe is best for the empire is against the council's wishes?"

 

{Gabe}

Gabe carefully added the last ingredients for one of his homemade explosives when Neena called. It was a delicate process, but Gabe had steady hands and good nerves. After the final mix, he picked up the phone. Neena launched straight into her report, as was her way. Gabe had wanted to go with her for the meeting, but other duties had to be done.

"Gotcha." Gabe said in his calming voice. "I've got some stuff ready now and should lighten up the situation."

He paused a moment as he thought of who they were dealing with.

"Be careful how you answer, but how do you feel about our new...partners?"

(This post does not exist.)

Edited July 21, 201510 yr by Guest

(This post does not exist.)

(B-but...if it doesn't exist, then how can it tell me...my brain hurts.)

(Okay, so Sabre just pointed out to me that the EREBUS member was actually in the Viridian training room that Antigone, Lucia, and Max were all in. So... yeah. Change of plan, edit posts or whatever I guess. Sorry, screwed up and didn't notice that bit.)

-Maximilian-

 

Max was getting ready to attack again, thay is until he heard a large explosion, to which him and skeith turned to where it came from, both of them creating a protective barrier in front of him, Antigone and Lucia, in order to protect from the explosion, "An attack in the virian caverns?!" Max shouted out, "EREBUS is clearly working hard aren't they?" skeith spoke as he and Max maintained the barrier protecting from the explosion, "Hm seems like water gods are falling, and the caves are flooding" Skeith said, sensing the deaths and panic all around the caverns, this empowered him somwhat, as despair and death powered him, liked it or not.

 

"We need to leave, if this cave floods, we'l be sealed in here to die" Skeith pointed out, "We're leaving when we have made sure most of the civilians are ok" Max told him, much to Skeiths dismay, "What can we do?" he asked Antigone and Lucia.

 

///

 

-Skies near orthys-

 

"Simple, I won't do it, the times me and Cthusus took matters in our own hands was with permission from some officials in the council, I never disobeyed an order, I was only given specific ones from the council members" Alicia explained to Magda's question as she flew beside her.

(Well shit if I had read this thread earlier my sense of duty to my country probably would have kicked in a bit harder. Well I'm here now.)

 

"If that is all you have to offer Teryn, then this meeting is over. Good-bye, and good luck with your efforts. Come back when your a bit more desperate." Griffith said, with all the authority due a Praetor in his voice. Then he shut off the hologram. 

"Excellent work Praetor. Closing doors, but not all the way. You never know when they may be of some use to you."

Hush Gaea, I am still uncertain if that was the best course of action. Abraxas and EREBUS both are getting more and more troubling. Even our security could fall to a well-made plan. Griffith thought, standing up from his seat. His bodyguards rose with him.

"For the official record, you both received demerits for your behavior among those leaders." Griffith began to say.

"But we all know those don't matter to you." Ager said, as if the words were familiar.

"And that you bring us along instead of your cabinet because of the things we say." Milas finished the lecture. Griffith nodded and smiled at them. But before he could say something else, a messenger broke into the room.

"Praetor! An attack from combined Abraxian and EREBUS forces! They took down the Water Gods, and forced our hand into closing down those caverns!" The messenger exclaimed, out of breath and clearly still reeling from the news himself. All three of them took the news differently. Ager punched a wall and bellowed in characteristic rage. Milas stood silently, but electricity crackled around her. Praetor Griffith bit his lip.

"The full report messenger, and a bit more slowly this time." The messenger nodded frantically, and told his leader of everything he knew. 

What now Gaea?

"Up to you Wise Praetor. You can roll over, take the loss and not do anything about it, or..."

I could fight. 

Griffith looked at the messenger. "Go to the royal treasury, and give seed money to the refugees from the caverns. Enough to keep them afloat until they can get a job here." The messenger nodded, and ran off. 

"What about us? You can't expect us to sit here while there are drowning civilians out there!" Ager said, his tone full of frustration and rage.

"I can and I do. There is nothing we can do for those flooded caverns. They are already gone. However, we can and will, make them pay. Ager, Milas, go to the generals. Tell them to ready their armies for deployment. Abraxas and EREBUS will pay for this." Milas saluted and began to leave before she turned back to the Praetor.

"What about you Griffith?"

"I'm going to go tell Teryn what she wants to hear more than anything." Griffith said, going back into the room he had just left, and turned on the holographic communicator again. 

"Whoever can here me on the other bloody side of this thing, spread this news. Abraxas and EREBUS are working together. Both are incredibly dangerous. And the Peristylium is going to fight. Reinforcements to Zadkiel are on the way. Any transport that can be supplied from Inazuma is welcome but not necessary." Griffith said into the device, assuming that someone could hear him. He really hoped somebody could, or he'd look really dumb.

~~~~

Be careful of how she answers? Psh, as if anyone cared what she thought. And if they did, her blade was always hungry for more. "I don't like them. They're bloodthirsty, chaotic, destructive. But, with the damage they are doing to Zadkiel and Inazuma, we have to take advantage of them. This will work out with us in front." She said into the phone. She paused a moment. "At least, I really hope it will." Neena said with hesitation. Her doubts were not unfounded. The theory that Abraxas would fall into anarchy and be easily eliminated after Zadkiel perished, was just that. A theory. A well-evidenced theory, but if Argos was stronger than they assumed, then who knows where this would lead.

-Lucia Maxima-

 

"I'm not sure we have time to check on Civilians, Max! Those explosions were close by, possibly in this very cavern. If we don't make haste, we are sure to die!" She called out to him, understanding his concern for any unfortunate Civilians or other Military Men/Women who happened to be training with them but understanding more the urgency of their current situation.

"You, me and Antigone need to leave. Now! I can practically feel this Cavern giving way all around us....I'm sorry, but you can't save everyone. Come on!" Lucia pleaded to the others, hoping they don't risk their lives unnecessarily and potentially die in the process. "I hope the Praetor is unharmed..." She noted to herself, as they'd be doomed without organized leadership. 

"Lucia is right, Max. We need to get out, now... We'll regroup with the other soldiers, and find out what to do from there." Antigone commanded, though she was equally upset that they couldn't help the others who were in this cavern. She knew that many innocent people must be dying right now, and that there was nothing she could do... "Come on, let's go!" She ordered, and began to run off, hoping the other two were following her.

*Tumbleweed*